UGI trims natural gas bills

Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun file photo

A member of the drilling crew working for Cabot Oil & Gas works on a rig that drills for natural gas wells using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) methods in the Marcellus Shale Formation at northeastern Pennsylvania. UGI Utilities Inc. credits an abundant supply with enabling the utility to cut customers' bills.

A member of the drilling crew working for Cabot Oil & Gas works on a rig that drills for natural gas wells using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) methods in the Marcellus Shale Formation at northeastern Pennsylvania. UGI Utilities Inc. credits an abundant supply with enabling the utility to cut customers' bills. (Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun file photo)

Morning Call Staff

UGI trims bills for residential natural gas customers

Residential customers of UGI Utilities saw their bills dip about 4 percent starting on Sunday, the company said.

The new monthly bill for the average residential heating customer fell to $82.20 from $85.43, the company said Mondayin a news release. Combined with its most recent rate decrease in December, the latest cut will result in an average natural gas bill for a residential customer that is approximately 45.7 percent lower than in 2008, said Paul Szykman, UGI Utilities vice president of rates.

UGI said in a news release it cut the residential rate because it's paying less to obtain natural gas on the wholesale market due to abundant supplies from Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

That wealth of gas is insulating prices from seasonal demand fluctuations, said the company, which is somewhat good news for home heating customers. Last month was the second-coldest February on record in Allentown, with an average temperature of 18.9 degrees – nearly 12 degrees below normal.

By law, a utility cannot earn a profit on the fuel portion of a customer's bill but must pass the cost of procuring natural gas directly through to customers without any markup. A utility can make quarterly adjustments to this portion of the customer bill, known as the purchased gas cost rate.

For customers who might be struggling to pay their bills, UGI offers free budget billing to spread out payments evenly each month. Call 800-UGI-WARM (844-9276) for more information. Any customer who is behind on their bill should call UGI at 800-276-2722 to discuss payment arrangements.

Based in Reading, UGI sells natural gas to more than 391,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties, including Lehigh and Northampton.